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The Old Place by Bobby Finger My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved the time I spent with The Old Place. This is the story of Mary Alice and Ellie and Josie, all of whom live in a small town in Texas (Billington.) Ellie and Mary Alice live next door to each other and are best friends (both are also single moms of children who've died.) Josie is the New Yorker wife of a Billington resident who comes back home to take over his family's business and she takes a job being a schoolteacher after Mary Alice (unwillingly) retires. There are several other lovely and interesting and textured characters but most of the story revolves around these three women and you can't help but fall in love with them, as flawed as they are. Even though Mary Alice wasn't a likable character, I still found myself caring about her and wanting things to work out for her. You can tell that she hasn't had it easy. This story is about family, small towns, sisterhood, ...

The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I've never read MKA before. This was fun and engaging and I enjoyed reading it. It was a light read and I am not sure it will stay with me but I still liked reading it. View all my reviews

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi My rating: 3 of 5 stars I love Emezi's writing. This is not my favorite novel by them but I still love their writing and this unusual story of a woman who suffered a great loss and has three different romantic partners is no exception. Beautiful writing but not an interesting plot. View all my reviews

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book was really quite depressing. But it was also really well done. This is the story of Ansel Packer who is about to be executed on death row for murdering multiple women. The story is told by him and several of the women from his life: his mom, his wife's sister and the officer who caught him. It's a layered and captivating story. View all my reviews

The Humans by Matt Haig My rating: 4 of 5 stars i read about this in a book I was reading and I am so glad I decided to take a chance on it. It's not what you think it will be and it's also exactly what you think it will be. Matt Haig is such a wonderful writer, for me. I enjoy his books. View all my reviews

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren My rating: 4 of 5 stars read this in one slurp. Christina Lauren is always so fun and this one is no exception. Funny and I loved the wilderness setting. View all my reviews

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman My rating: 2 of 5 stars 2.5 stars This was a hit and a miss for me. Some of it was nice but the characters never really stuck with me and so I lost interest in the story even as i was reading it. View all my reviews

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved everything about this story of a set of neighbors who live in an apartment building on Mallow Island. They each have their own story of loss and sadness and things they are running away from and yet they find family and kindness and love with each other. This story of love and loss and magic is absolutely beautiful to read. There is a little magical realism in this book, but I didn't think it was too much. I loved the way it was weaved in and what it represented. A really beautiful story about a chosen family. with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an advanced copy. View all my reviews

Heartstopper: Volume Three by Alice Oseman My rating: 5 of 5 stars these books are an absolute joy to read! this one has some trigger warnings for self harm and eating disorders. View all my reviews

Heartstopper: Volume Two by Alice Oseman My rating: 5 of 5 stars these books are an absolute joy to read! View all my reviews

Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman My rating: 5 of 5 stars these books are an absolute joy to read! View all my reviews

I'm the Girl by Courtney Summers My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book will stay with me for quite some time. It has Summers' usual gritty style and does not hold back punches. It's hard to read. It has a million trigger warnings and some really really unlikeable characters. I thought most of it, sadly, was believable. The only thing that really bothered me was how determined the main character was to put being beautiful and wanted over everything else, including her own safety. At some point, I just couldn't believe the choices she was making. with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Three Kisses, One Midnight: A Novel by Roshani Chokshi My rating: 5 of 5 stars I am not a fan of Halloween so I was a bit weary reading this story but I was excited to see that it's one of those "fun, magical" Halloween stories and not the "scary, eerie" ones. This book tells the story of three best friends who each aim to get their love potion and kiss before midnight. Each section tells the story of one character but they also show up in each other's characters as the evenings always culminate in the same setting (big Halloween bash.) I loved each of the characters and how they had different energy and were each interesting and lovable in their own ways. I found myself rooting for them each time. My favorite was Ash. I loved the artistic fence, the beautiful masks and the magical cranes. What a lovely story. If you're like me and would rather read love and fun instead of scary, you will love this story! with gratitud...

Book Lovers by Emily Henry My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. Read this one in one sitting. Sweet, funny and enjoyable like Emily Henry often is. View all my reviews

Trust by Hernan Diaz My rating: 5 of 5 stars One of my top reads for this year. A really interesting book written in 3 stories and a diary entry. It felt a little bit like Fates and Furies in that the reader gets the onion peeled a layer at a time and only at the very end do you feel you get the full story. Very well done. View all my reviews

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really loved listening to this sweet, sweet story. If you like romance and like strong, kind and well-developed characters, this is the book for you. View all my reviews

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I am told there's a backstory to this novel and many people hate it because of it. I liked it. I don't know anything about the backstory. I never read the original article and this made me think a little bit about Gilmore Girls. But for the most part, I thought it was interesting and well-written. View all my reviews

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I enjoy Philpott's writing. I enjoy her observations and I can relate to her anxiety. I really liked and related to these little essays. View all my reviews

Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was my first Sloane Crosley so I am not sure if this is a typical book for her. This is a fascinating story about a main character who keeps running into her exes in the span of a short amount of time. The plot then takes a weird twist into technology and memory and so much more. I don't want to give it away except to say it has some interesting insights around technology, dating, relationships and memory. I really enjoyed the genre-bending nature of it and I really enjoyed Crosley's wry sense of humor. With gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center My rating: 4 of 5 stars Who doesn't love a Katherine Center book! Her characters are always so sweet and lovable and I liked the switch of the plot in this one where the bodyguard was the female character. This was fun, sweet and exactly what I needed during these not-so-fun times. Thank you for always knowing what's needed Katherine Center. with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt My rating: 5 of 5 stars What a gift of a book. I loved every moment I spent with this story and these lovely, endearing characters. The octopus was most definitely my favorite. Really wonderful novel to read during these tough times. View all my reviews

One of Us Is Dead by Jeneva Rose My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars because I read this one very quickly. It was about women ho backstabbed each other and men who did, too. All the rich people being not so nice. Reasonably predictable. View all my reviews

See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars for this groundhog day story that manages not to make every day feel the same. the stories that revolve around re-living the same day are always tricky but this one managed to bypass that trope. I enjoyed the time I spent with it. View all my reviews

Mindful Sketching: How to Develop a Drawing Practice and Embrace the Art of Imperfection by Peggy Dean My rating: 4 of 5 stars Peggy Dean's book is an invitation to use sketching as a way to practice mindfulness. To slow down and observe the world around you and take time to re-create it on the page. She gives simple but comprehensive sketching instructions and covers all of the basics like perspective, buildings, people, etc. This is the perfect book to get you started on your sketching journey and to help you practice mindfulness alongside this wonderful pasttime. with gratitude to netgalley and Sasquatch Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

Big Feelings: How to Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay by Liz Fosslien My rating: 5 of 5 stars We need more books like this in the world. Hard things are happening to all of us and it's been an exceptionally tough few years. I really really appreciate how honest and open Liz and Mollie are in this book. How they do not shy away from the things that are incredibly hard to talk about. They go into the dark places and they hold your hand and give you some ideas of what might help while you're there. They don't mince words, they don't assume they know more than they do or that there are easy answers. They do what they do best: they make you feel less alone in the world. They make you feel seen. I am so grateful for what they do. with gratitude to edelweiss and Portfolio/ Random House for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary My rating: 4 of 5 stars For some reason it took me forever to get into this book and follow the story line of each of the women. Thankfully I hadn't read enough about the plot so the way it came together in the end was all new for me and really made the book so magical. I recommend reading this one without knowing too much in advance. View all my reviews

Answers in the Pages by David Levithan My rating: 4 of 5 stars Levithan is such an excellent writer. This book has three ongoing storylines. A boy whose class is reading a book that his mom doesn't approve of and would like removed from the curriculum, excerpts from the book itself, and two boys who are becoming friends as they do a school project together. Each of the stories is wonderful and joyful on their own and Levithan's magic is all over it. I don't want to say more lest I give away the best parts of the book. This story is a great reminder that books are magic and we all love who we love and kids can save their parents. I loved every minute I spent with it. with gratitude to netgalley and Random House Children's for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. View all my reviews

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3.5 stars. I kept dragging my feet on reading this mystery and I am not sure why. It was perfectly good. Interesting twists, engaging plot. If you like Foley's other work, you will enjoy this. View all my reviews

Home or Away by Kathleen West My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved this story about an ex-hockey player who almost made it to the Olympics but didn't as she brings her family (and her hockey playing kid) back to her hometown to face some of her own fears and past as her son learns how to navigate his new team. View all my reviews

True Biz by Sara Nović My rating: 4 of 5 stars What an unusual book. I really loved my time with this story that involved so much deaf culture and so many interesting facts about deaf history. I learned ASL years and years ago and this book made me want to go back and restudy so much of what I'd learned back then. View all my reviews